NAIOTH:

Place in which David and Samuel took refuge when the former was pursued by Saul (I Sam. xix. 18 et seq., xx. 1). The meaning of the name as well as the nature of the place is doubtful: the "ketib" is , of disputed vocalization; the "ḳere" is , giving "of Naioth" (A. V.). Further, this name is, except in I Sam. xix. 18, always followed by (= "in Ramah"); and the Septuagint supplies the ἐν Ῥαμά in this instance. It is evident therefore that Naioth was not a city, since it was in the city Ramah, although this objection has been refuted by Ewald ("Gesch." iii. 49), who explains as "near Ramah." It may be that the name is a plural form meaning "habitations"; this view seems to have been taken by the Targum of Jonathan, which renders it (= "house of instruction"). Thus, Naioth was a kind of cenobium, containing several apartments.